


I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything

by cyanideVamp



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: M/M, caleb covington is a bitch, for plot convenience and nothing else, i let the characters say fuck because its what they deserve, im taking creative liberties with julies powers, post S1, this is just. cheesy gay shit theres no other way to describe it, yes the title is from a taylor swift song okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanideVamp/pseuds/cyanideVamp
Summary: Caleb sets a trap, and Alex walks right into it.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 151





	I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh so this is my first time publishing a fic on ao3!! hope yall enjoy

Willie turns a corner, riding into an alley. He checks over his shoulder, focusing on what’s behind him rather than what’s right in front of him. He looks back ahead just in time to stumble off his board, landing on the ground in front of Caleb. 

“Caleb!” Willie scrambles to his feet. “What are you doing here? Don't you have a show?” It’s dark outside, definitely past eight PM. 

Caleb simply smiles, tight lipped, with dark eyes that seem to see right through Willie. “Big night for the phantoms, have you heard? Playing a sold out show at the orpheum?” Caleb knows everything, Willie realizes. He tightens his hands on his board. 

“Now, my question is, how does a small band like Julie and the Phantoms end up opening for Panic! At the Disco? And how, exactly, did the opening band end up two hundred miles away from town, so conveniently?” Willie gulps. 

Caleb walks forward, and Willie flinches. In one fluid moment, Caleb raises his hand and blows white smoke. Willie’s eyes go wide and he has no time to poof out before he’s disappeared.  
~~~  
In the two weeks following the band’s gig at the Orpheum, Alex doesn’t see Willie at all. That makes sense, Alex tells himself when the voice in his head starts to worry, Willie’s probably just laying low so Caleb doesn’t get suspicious. Or maybe Willie thinks they crossed over. There are plenty of logical explanations. 

He and Reggie are sitting in the garage- Luke and Julie are writing in Julie’s room- when Alex decides he’s had enough of sitting around. He stands up, clears his throat before speaking. 

“I’m going for a walk.” Reggie looks up from the paper he’s no doubt writing some country song on. 

“Are you okay?” Usually Alex only goes on walks when he’s upset and has stormed out of the house. 

“Yeah! I’m fine. Um, I’m going to go see if I can find Willie.” Reggie’s face goes from concern to understanding, and then a cocky grin spreads across his face. Alex rolls his eyes and he mutters a quiet, “Shut up,” under his breath before he leaves. 

He can faintly hear Reggie call after him, “Have fun with your boyfriend!” as he leaves, and Alex can feel his face flush. 

Alex walks around for an hour, checking all the places he thinks Willie could be at. The park, the museum, the streets of Los Angeles. He wanders around for a while, hoping to spot a long haired boy skateboarding through the people on the sidewalk. 

It's getting dark when he starts to get anxious. He should’ve run into Willie by now, right? It's not like Willie would suddenly stop skating unless… unless something bad had happened to him. 

Oh my God, he’s dead, Alex thinks to himself. 

Alex, both of you are ghosts. He’s probably just… sleeping. 

Yeah,sure, he’s sleeping, that makes sense. His brain essentially rolls its eyes at him. Ghosts don't need to sleep, dumbass! 

He looks around, and something catches his eye. His eyes go wide.

Leaning neatly against a tree, is Willie’s skateboard, his helmet resting next to it. Alex whispers a soft, “Oh God,” as he slowly walks towards the skateboard. 

He reaches out slowly, as if the skateboard will disappear before his fingers reach it and this will all be fake. It’s solid when his fingers make contact, and Alex can feel his stomach drop.

Tucked under Willie’s helmet is a flyer, advertising the Hollywood Ghost Club in big golden letters. If Alex still had a beating heart, it would have stopped right there. 

Caleb has Willie. The skateboard, the flyer, he’s telling Alex to come find him. 

It’s obviously a trap. Alex isn’t stupid, he knows Caleb is trying to lure him with Willie. But Alex has beaten Caleb before, he can do it again. 

Right? 

~~~

Alex poofs into a very packed Hollywood ghost club. Someone walks right through him as he stands by the door. 

Caleb stands on the stage, surrounded by dancers and a cheering crowd of lifers. Alex’s eyes go wide, and he ducks behind a passing waiter before realizing that Caleb is too caught up in performing to notice him. 

Calm down, Alex tells himself. Don’t act suspicious, just find Willie and get out of here. 

He looks around, and sees someone wearing a pink waiter’s jacket walk through a wall. Moments later, another waiter walks through the same wall. So that’s where Alex goes, slipping through the wall and glancing over his shoulder the whole time. 

Alex sneaks through the hallway, checking around every corner and behind him. He finds a room marked as “storage,” and slips inside. 

Willie is sitting on the ground, and his eyes go wide when he sees Alex. 

“Alex! What are you doing here?” Alex kneels next to him. Willie’s wrists are bound with some weird purple light, no doubt created by Caleb’s magic. 

“Saving you. How do I get these off?” Willie shakes his head. 

“You can’t. Alex, this is a trap, you need to go-” 

“I’m not leaving you. There has to be some way to get them off…” Alex pokes at Willie’s bonds with a finger and yanks his hand away when it shocks him. It doesn’t feel too unlike the jolts from Caleb’s stamp, just on a smaller level. 

“There isn’t, this is a set up, you’re going to give him exactly what he wants.” Alex ignores him, instead looking over the purple chains to try to figure out how to get them off. 

“Alex! So nice of you to join us!” Alex spins around at the sound of Caleb’s voice in time to see a flash of purple fly towards him before it hits him and he’s out cold. 

~~~

Alex wakes up to Willie braiding his hair. He looks up at Willie, thinking about how he’d love to tilt his head up and close the distance between them. But he doesn’t. 

“I didn’t know ghosts could get knocked out.” Willie lightly traces Alex’s jaw with his fingertips. Alex blushes, abruptly aware of the intimacy of the gesture.

“Are you okay?” Alex nods. 

“Where did Caleb go?” Willie glances at the door. 

“He’ll be back. He’s waiting for your friends to show up.” Alex sits up abruptly. Something tugs on his arm, and he finally notices the purple chains around his wrists. 

“Fuck, this is all my fault. How could I fall for something that stupid?” 

“Hey, it's not your fault. I would’ve done the same thing.” Alex sighs softly, fiddling with his hands. Willie reaches out, resting his hand on top of Alex’s. Alex intertwines their fingers. 

“They won't start to look for me till tomorrow. They’ll just assume I’m still with you.” Willie raises an eyebrow. 

“So, do we wait for them?” Alex nods. 

“Julie can get these off. She got rid of Caleb’s stamp, she’ll be able to get these off.” Willie frowns but doesn’t say anything. 

The door flings open as Caleb makes his dramatic entrance. Alex resists the urge to roll his eyes. Ghosts don't need to use doors. 

“Hello boys! Now, I’d like to apologize for being such a terrible host.” He purses his lips into a mocking frown. 

“But then again, I’ve got no time for traitors. Isn’t that right, William?” Caleb snaps his fingers and Willie cries out, rocked by one of the same jolts that Alex had gotten from Caleb’s stamp a few weeks ago. 

Alex shouts Willie’s name and reaches out for him as Caleb snaps his fingers again, sending another jolt. Willie hunches over, groaning. Alex’s eyes are wide with horror. 

“Stop it! Stop hurting him, please, I’ll do what you want!” Caleb’s smile only gets wider at the sight of tears in Alex’s eyes. 

“Don’t be silly, Alex, this is just for fun! Now, one last time?” Caleb snaps both of his fingers this time. Both Alex and Willie scream, hit by matching jolts. They end up curled on the floor, groaning in pain, as Caleb leaves. His laughter echoes in Alex’s ears, harsh and cruel. 

Willie’s hand finds Alex’s, and they stay like that. On the ground, hands clasped together. 

~~~

Eventually, they can faintly hear the band start up, and they hear Caleb singing. Willie hums along to the words, and Alex realizes that Willie knows the words by heart. How long has Willie been here? How long has Caleb owned his soul? 

The band quiets down again, yet they can hear Caleb calling out to people, tossing out compliments left and right. Alex stares at the purple chains around his wrists and tells himself that Julie will be able to get them off, as if the more he repeats it the more likely it is to be true. 

Alex hears voices in the hallway outside, and looks up in time to see Reggie poke his head through the wall. Reggie’s eyes go wide and he shouts, “They’re in here, guys!” 

Luke and Reggie step through the wall. A moment later, the door opens, and Julie and Flynn join them. 

“Alex! Are you okay?” Julie’s eyes are full of worry. 

“I’m fine. Can you get these off?” He holds up his wrists, showing her the purple chains. She frowns, reaching out for them. After a bit, her hands start to glow, and when her hands hover over him, Alex starts to glow too, just like the night they played the orpheum. The chains seem to hiss and recoil, dissapaiting into purple smoke which fades quickly. Alex smiles at her, rubbing at his wrists. He can feel the ghost of the chains still on his skin. 

“Thanks.” She smiles back before gesturing at the door. 

“Let's get out of here, before Caleb shows up.” Alex frowns, glancing at Willie and the purple chains still around Willie’s wrists. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Reggie and Alex share a look. 

“Alex, she can’t see him. She can’t get them off.” Luke’s voice is soft, kind, telling Alex the painful truth gently. Reggie wears the same look on his face as the time he showed up at the studio after his parents had a particularly nasty fight. 

Alex looks at Willie with a look of panic, and Willie shakes his head gently. Reggie steps forward.  
“Look, there must be some way to get them off.” Before either of them can warn him, Reggie’s hands touch the chains, and a moment later he’s stumbling away, clutching his hands to his chest, groaning in pain. 

“We tried that already.” Alex looks at Julie, hoping that she’ll get the look on her face that tells him that she’s figured it out, she knows how to get them off, that they’ll be saved. But the only look on her face is one of sadness, pity. 

“Alex, you guys need to go.” Willie’s voice has a twinge of fear to it, and Alex knows he’s thinking about what Caleb will do. Alex shakes his head. 

“I’m not leaving you here.” 

“It’s my fault you guys got into this mess. Please, go. Before he comes back.” Alex shakes his head again. 

“I’m not leaving you, Willie.” Willie smiles at him, but it's a sad smile, one that says you have done all you can. Alex stares at him, different thoughts running through his brain at lightning speed. He’s vaguely aware of Flynn whispering to Julie, “What’s happening?” 

Willie leans towards him a bit, winks, and whispers, “See you around, hot dog.” Alex feels like he’s about to explode, and in one solid movement, before he loses the bit of courage that is resting inside him, he leans forward and kisses Willie. 

It’s perfect, despite the circumstances. It’s everything he dreamed it would be and more, oh so much more. His skin seems to spark under Willie’s touch, like his fingers are matches dragging along a matchbox. He can hear Luke in the background whispering for the others to give them privacy, and shuffling as they all turn away. 

Willie gently moves his fingers, tracing the back of Alex’s neck. Alex melts, leaning in more. Willie’s lips are soft against his own. Alex moves his hand to grab onto Willie’s wrist, gripping him tightly. 

There’s a hissing noise, and they break apart to see the chains turn to smoke. A quick glance at each other shows that they’re both glowing, a golden hue dancing on their skin. 

“You got them off!” Alex tears his gaze away from Willie to look at the rest of them, all smiling as if they’ve seen a cute puppy. Alex rolls his eyes but smiles, swiping his hand over his eyes because he may have teared up a bit. He hears Flynn whisper to Julie, “I can see them!” 

“We should get out of here, before Caleb comes back.” Willie stands up, offering Alex his hand. Alex takes it, climbing to his feet. 

They creep into the hallway and start to head for the main entrance when Willie stops them. 

“There’s a back exit that no one uses. C’mon, it's this way.” So all six of them sneak through the halls to the door, where they run out into the night and keep running. Alex keeps checking over his shoulder, expecting Caleb to be behind them every time. But he isn't. 

They end up back at Julie’s house. Everyone makes their way into the studio, except Willie, and Alex when he notices. 

They stand in silence, space between them that Alex is abruptly scared to close. 

“So… what are you going to do now?” Willie shrugs. 

“Guess I’ll lay low. No more skating the streets for a while, I guess.” Alex frowns. 

“Do you have anywhere to go?” Willie shakes his head. 

“Never really had to think about that till now.” He laughs softly. Alex offers him a small smile. He exhales slowly, trying to calm his nerves, feeling like a boy about to ask his crush to prom. 

“If you don't have anywhere else to go… maybe you could join us?” Alex gestures to the studio. Willie tilts his head to the side, as if he’s examining the studio before answering. He smiles at Alex.  
Alex holds out his hand. With no hesitation, Willie takes it and allows Alex to lead him through the wall and into the studio.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr (@laughuntilourribsgettough)


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